Developing apparatus



Aug. 20, 1929. A. LANGSNER DEVELOPING APPARATUS Filed March 2K3, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l Eday/lg Z un UMMHUHIQT Aug. 20, 1929. A, LANGsNER.

DEVELOPING APPARATUS Filed' Marh 23, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 www Aug. 20, 1929. A LANGSNER 1,725,532

DEVELPING APPARATUS Filed March 23, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 la Y | l l Wi@ @W Patented Aug.l 2,0,` 1929.

UNITED STATES l I A1,125,532' APa'rlazrrr OFFICE.

ADoLPH LANGSNER; oF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoB, To EUGENE DIETZGEN u-, PANY, oF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

DEVELO'PING APPARATUS;

\ Appucation inea Maren 23, 1928. serial No. 263,998.

My invention relates to apparatus for dey veloping light sensitive material by the ac. tion of chemically active gas. In this particular instance, l have shown means for developingv a light sensitivepaper such as the well-known ozalid paper by means of the action of ammonia gas.

One of the objects of my invention 1s to provide an apparatus containing two `isolatav ble chambers, one constituting a developing chamber and the other constituting a loading chamber together with means forming a shiftable carrier adapted to be moved from` the' loading chamber into the developing chamber, and reversely, there also being 'means for cutting lofi communicatlon between the loading chamber and the developing chamber so that the source of chemically active gas present in the developing chamber may be confined to said chamber during the developing action. An ancillary object of my invention resides inl providing in the developing chamber a source of liquid adapted to evolve a chemically active gas, such for instance as liquid ammonia, adapted to evolve ammonia gas, together with means for forcing or blowing air upon the liquid whereby to project the developing gas into contact with ythe light sensitive material supported on the carrier within the developing chamber.

Another object ofmy invention is to provide my developing apparatus with the two chambers, the one a developing chamber and the other a loading chamber and to provide a shiftable carrier which may be moved from one of said chambersA t'o the other land further, to provide a movabledoor or partition which may be shifted so as to open vor close communication between said chambers, permitting in the one instance the movement of the carrier supporting the light sensitive material thereon from one chamber to the other forloading or developing, and in the. other where-in the two separate chambers constitutv ing the, developing and loading chambersmay be isolated one from the other by means 5 light sensitive material and thereafter when lof. a ldoor ,or partition or may be put into communication with each other by means of the shifting of said partition and wherein the developing chamber contains an openin provided with a plurality of shiftable shutters adapted to automatically be opened or ,60 closed by the starting or stopping of the fan blower which is constructed and arranged to project the developing gas directly upon the light nsensitive material supported within the developing'chamber. `Another object of this aspect of my invention resides in the further provision of the loading chamber with a ventilating fan so that when the shiftable carrier supporting the light sensitive material is moved into the developing chamber and the partition closed and the fan blower in the developingchamber started, the shutter will automatically open to permit a draft of air and the projection of the gas against the closing the shutters and the fan blower and at the same time begin to suck the ammonia gas from the developing chamber back into itsl own chamber. AIn addition, when the light sensitive material, after being developed, is moved into the loading chamber and the partitionD shifted again to closed position, the fan blower in the loading chamber may be operated to ventilate the developed material. Thus, it will vbe seen that I provide a developingapparatus comprising the developing in the loading chambers and comprising a partition adapted to permit communication between said chambers or to isov late the same Aand providing blowing devices in each chamber, the one for developing the light sensitive material and the other for Ventilating it, the construction. being such that the devices in the separate chambers are operable independently of the other.

Still another object of my invention resides in the construction of the trackage within the developing and loading chambers and the arrangement of the shiftable partition adapted to be moved transversely through the .tracks so as to shut oif complete Y communication between the two chambers.

ing-loading and Ventilating chambers and .t-he movable carrier shiftable therebetween together with the mechanism for shifting said carrier andthe arrangement of -a screen while at the same time permitting the free operation of the 'car shifting means.

Still another object of my invention resides in the novel arrangement of means for supporting the light sensitive material from the carrier land in a manner to permitl its free insertion .and quick withdrawall from the carrier.-

Yet other objects of my invention reside in the details of construction of the cabinet itself; the separate developing and ventilating chambers; the fan or blower chamber; the arrangement of the Ventilating shutter for preventing the ingress of 'an' to the blower; the means for driving the fan or blower; the arrangement of the trackage between the developing and Ventilating chambers, 1ncluding the means for driving the wheeled truck or support along said trackage from one chamber to the other; the arrangement of the partition or screen and-the means for raising and lowering the same from a point outside of the apparatus; and in the general and specific arrangement of details not hereinbefore mentioned. v

These and other objects of my invention will be apparent from la perusal of the :tollowing specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: A Figure 1 is a front elevation of a pre- '.ferred form of my apparatus;

' bers, a developing chamber and a loadingA .f Figure 2 is a plan sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing the curtain in lowered position; l Figure '4 is a section through the means for holding the light sensitive material; and

Figure 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Figure 4.

In general, my apparatus comprises a cabinet or the like providing two main chamand airing chamber. The developing'chamber is provided with an opening controlled bya plurality of relativelight shutters, so light as to be automatically operable by a current of gair created by a .fan within the 4developing chamber so that when the fan is operable lin one direction, the travel of air will automatically cause the shutters to open whereas when the fan is reversed, it will cause the shutters to automatically close. In addition, there is disposed within the developing chamber a -container of liquid adapted to generate or evolve chemically active gas such for instance as a pan of ammonia adapted to generate ammonia gas and there are provided a plurality ofwicks or equivalent devices which dip into the amthe ammonia gas will be'given oit more quickly'and will lbe blown in the 'desired direction and if desired'the direction maybe guided by suitable partitions. lThe loading and developing chambers are adapted to communicate but may be closed by means of a shiftable curtain or partition preferably mounted on rollers and arranged'so that when the curtain is raised, communication is established between the loading and dc- Veloping chamber and when the curtain is lowered the two chambers will be completely isolated the one from the other. The floors of the two chambers are provided with a track which is slotted or divided to permit the passage of the curtain therethrough during the'raising and lowering operations. A wheeled carrier is mounted to roll along this track to move from onechamber to the other when the partition is raised. This lcarrierv supports uprights provided with means for holding a plurality of sheets.

of light sensitive material `such as ozalid paper or the like. The loading chamber is provided with a relatively large door through which the paper holder on the truck may be loaded with light sensitive material to be developed or through. which the already developed paper may be removed. In

addition, this loading chamber is provided with a fan blower having communication -with the outside air so that Vwhen 'the blower that the one -operation will be entirelyindependent of the other. The blower fan in the developing chamber may be reversely driven so that on reverse movement instead of projecting the chemically active gas against the light sensitive material as during the' developing operation, the reverse movement of the fan will automatically close the shutters in the developing vchamber and, willsuck the chemically active gas from the developing chamber back into the fan compartment so that when the partition is subsequently raised very little, if any, of the developing gas will pass into the loading' chamber.

-Referring now to they details of my construction,-I provide a cabinet upon suitable standards 2 which cabinet is of any desired shape and size but is'preferably substantially rectangular so as to provide two relatively largeandommunicable chambers. For

1 is fastened. This housing vis provided with instance, in Figure 1 the chamber 4 at the left is the loading chamber and the .chamber 6 at the right is the developing chamber. The chamber at the right is .provided on one sidejwitli an opening through which a square tubular housing 8 of sheet metal an end opening 1 0 in which are pivotally mounted as at 12 a plurality of shutters 14 of relatively light material. These shutters are adapted to overlappingly engage in closed position so as to completely close the opening 10 of this housing or hood 8. In addition, the upper 'and lower Walls of the housing 8 are formed as bearings for a substantially vertical rod 16 having a turning head 18 at the outside of the casing 8 pro-l vided with a plurality of claws or fingers 20 within", which when the rod is turned will engage the se arate shutters 14 andv position. lVithin the..

hold them in close housing `8, immediately to one .side of the claws 20, I mount a bracket 22 having a lcentral hub carrying a fan shaft 24 and a v fan 26. The opposite end of the fan is provided with a band or driving connection 28 to a motor Vshaft 30 drivenJ by a motor 32 located on-the under side of the cabinet.'v 'This is a reversible motor so that the fan may be driven ih reversed directions.

`Within the wall 34' of the Ventilating cham-4 ber, Iv provide a tubular guide' or-liousing 36 registering with the housing`8 and forming an extension thereof to provide a fan chamber and inthis chamber I prefer to provide a plurality of air deflecting fans 38 which f an outwardlyA so as uniformly to deflect `the air from the fan in desired directions and spread it so as to project the'gashreinafter described 4complete'ly upon the-light sensitive material supported within the developing chamber as hereinafter described. As forming -a part of the fanfchamber, and carrying the source.

of developing gas, I provide the interior of Y the developing v'chamber with 'partitions ori tially central opening 44 directly opposite the .housing 36. In, the upper portion of this chamber, Ix ro'vide a pan or container 48 containing a iquid adapted to evolve a chemically active gas such as liquid am-v monia adapted to evolve ammonia gas. Similarly, I rovide the lower portion of this fan cham r' with another pan 50 likewise containing a. quantity of liquid ani-f monia. I provide a saturating member adapted to have its ends immersed in the liquid in -these pans. If desired; I may 'provide a plurality .of wicks 52 or I may provide a single saturating member in the form of an open-work member having its upper and lower ends in the ammonia so as to draw the ammonia upwardly and downwardly -by capillary attraction whereb the complete member will be-saturated wit I.the liquid ammonia.

Thus, when the fan is rotated in lone direction the draft of air created thereby will automatically-cause the very light shutters 14 to open and the current `of airprojected by the fan against the saturated wicks will which will be projected into the developing chamber proper. On the contrary, when' cause the rapid evolution of-developing gas the fan is driven in a reversed direction the current of air will cause the shutters 14 to be closed at which time they may be fastened in closed position by means of the rod 8 and the claws 20. At the same time, the

reversed current of air will suck the chemically active gas from the developing chamber back into' the fan chamber so as to remove as much ofthe developing gas from the developing chamber as is possible.

During this time the partition or curtain or closed position.

'.Ihe loading or Ventilating chamber 4 is provided at one side with a door 54 so that access may be had to the interior of this chamber for loading and discharging the light sensitive material. That wall ofthe hereinafter described will be' in the lowered chamber preferably opposite the wall in which the door 54 is mounted i-s provided with an opening 56 and at the edges of this opening a bracket 58 is preferably mounted which bracket carries a shaft on which is revolvably mounted a fan or blower 60 driven by a belt 62 which in turn connects with a pulley on the fan shaft 24. A protective screening or housing 64 encloses the fan or blower 60. If desired, the fan 60 may be driven from a separate motor. A

On the main floor 66 of the two chambers l4 and 6, I provide preferably two beams 68 and 70 on which I mount rails 72 and 74.

These rails run the length of the two chainlbers` except at the vertical plane in which the -screen operates. At this point, the rails are slotted as at 7 6 to permit the screen to pass vertically --and downwardly across the rails.

-This 'slot isfsufiiciently wide to permit this a plurality of dependingA sheet i holders.

These holders, as shown `in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing, are preferabl formed of sheet metal and comprise space apart strips 88 and 90 suitably attached-as by.ineans of nails 92 to the bars 86. The lower portions of the two strips 88 and 90 receive a substantially triangular shaped member 94, one wall 96 of which is vertical and flat while the opposite wall 98 is inclined or wedge-shaped and tapers upwardly from a rather wide base 100 to the apex 102. These wedge-like or triangular spaced members are formed of a single strip of sheet metal folded or bent so that the intermediate portion of the strip.

forms the apex 102 while the free ends are suitably curved or bent and form the base. These wedge-like members may be held in place between the side strips 88 and 90 by soldering or spot welding. It will be noticed that a curved wall 98 is always adjacent the straight wall 96 of the next contiguous holder. -Balls 104 are inserted between two spaceda'part holders before they are assembled. The arrangement is shown clearly in Figures 4 and 5. iVith this construction, when a sheet 106 of light sensitive material is inserted upwardly between one of the fiat pieces 90 and the ball, the ball will be moved upwardly to permit the free insertion, but under the action of gravity and the tendency of the sheet to move downwardly, the ball is wedged along the inclined surface 98 and acts to securely hold the sheet in position against the vertical face 96. It will be appreciated that the-se holders are arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the frame and in the same plane so that the upper opposite 110 in the upper part of the cabinet whilef `the lower roller 112 is mounted on another shaft 114 in the lower portion of the cabinet beneath the floor 66. These two shafts 110 and 114 may be arranged in suitable housings. 116 and 118 respectively for enclosing the same. The ends of these shafts at one side of the housings are provided with sprockets 120 and 122 over which a chain 124 passes, which chain in turn meshes with a relatively large gear 126 on a shaft 128 journaled in the walls of the main cabinet. This shaft in turn has a handle 130 whereby the chain 124 may be moved to rotatethe shafts 110 and 114 in unison to operate thev upper and lower rolls together. The curtain 132 is arranged to slide or move in` two U-shaped `ways 134 and 136 carried on the inner vertical walls 138 and 140 of the cabi net. This curtain may be of any desired material that is not affected by the action of the developing gas; it may be of rubber or rubberized; fabric or heavy textile fabricI such as duck or the like, and sufficiently thick so as to be. substantially air-proof or gas-proof. The curtain is fixed to the upper roll 108 about which it normally winds. The lower portion of the curtain is provided with two marginal relatively long straps or integral portions 142 and 144 (see Figure 3) which are'at-tached to the lower roll 112. These straps provide an intermediate portion of the roller 146 which forms a relatively wide cut-out of' sufficient width to permit the. passage of the truck 76 between the straps 142 and 144 when the curtain is in raised position, it being understood -that when the curtain is in suoli raised position the lower edge of the intermediate portion ot' the curtain immediately above the recess 146 will lie above the path of movementof the truck while t-he relatively long side` straps 142 and 144 will straddle the truck with their lower ends attached to the lower roller 112. By means of this construction, when the lower roller is operated in one direction the curtain will be lowered by means of the strapswinding up on the roller whereasl when the upper roller 108 is rotated in its proper direction the curtain will raise. In addition, the lower portion of the curtain is slotted as at 148 and 150 to straddle the driving chains for the truck as hereinafter described. In other words, when the curtain is in lowered position as shown in Figure 3, the slots 148 and 15() in the lower edge of the curtain will pass around the driving chains so as to form substantially gas-tight jointswith the fioor 66 at this point so as to prevent any great amount of ammonia gas passing through into the loading chamber.

In order to move the truck back and forth on the tracksI provide one end of the\de veloping chamber above the floor 66 with a transverse shaft 152 carrying two sprockets- 154 and 156 over which pass two chains 15.8 and 160. In the loading chamber immediately above the floor, I also mount another the truck is moved by means of the chains.

158 and 160 so that the truck is shifted into the loading chamber after which the curtain 132 is moved downwardly to close communi-v cation between the developing and loading chambers. The door 51 is then opened and sheets of light sensitive material are hung from the holders. The door is then closed,

the curtain raised, and the truck moved into the developing chamber. The curtain is then recting veins avainst the wicks and thencev I will pass into tie developing chamber into communication with the light sensitive material. Immcdiatel upon the operation of the fan 26, the lig t shutters 14 will have opened to permit outside air to passinto the fan chamber as -hereinbefore described.

After a sutlicient period of development, the motor is then reversed for driving the fan in the opposite direction which immediately and automatically closes the shutters 14 at which time they maybe locked by means of the claws 20. The reversal of.

this fan at once sucks the greater portion of the ammonia gas back into the fan chamber. At this time, the curtain is a ain raised and the truck carrying the dev oped material thereon is moved into the lventllating chamber and the curtain is again lowered. Then the Ventilating fan 60 in the Ventilating chamber is put in operation to remove the occluded gases from the light sensitive material after` which it may be ydischarged through the open .door of the loading chamber and the apparatus is then ready for further loadinv and developing.

By reason o? the foregoing, it will be seen that a greater number of sheets of developing material may be simultaneously developed in a very short time by means of the convenient arrangement of the developing and loading chambers and that during the developing operation, the ammonia gas will have but little opportunit to escape into the surrounding air about tlie cabinet. This isdue in the main, to the presence of the.

shit'table curtain or screen, and secondly, to the construction and operation of the shutters 14 of relatively light material and the means for holding them in closed position, together with themeans whereby a lar portion of the developin gas may be sucked back into the fan cham r when the fan is reversely rotated. l

Having thus described iny invention what;

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a developing apparatus, the combif nation of a cabinet provided with a developing chamber and with a' loading chamber, a shiftable curtain adapted to cut olf communication between said chambers, a shiftable carrier adapted to support light sensitive material adapted to be shifted from'one of said chambers to ^the other of said chambers when said curtain is shifted to open communication between said chambers, and

means in the developing chamber adapted to ow developing gas against the light sensitive material.

2. In a developing apparatus of the character described, the combination of a cabinet, a. shiftable Apartition in said cabinet adapted when closed to divide the cabinet into separate chambers, a movable carrier in said cabinet adapted to move from one chamber to the other when said partition is moved to permit communication between said chambers, a source of developing gas in one of said chambers, means for blowln y said gas on li ht sensitive material on sai carrier in sai chamber, and means in the f other chamber for Ventilating the light sensitive material when placed therein.

3. In a developing apparatus, the combination of a cabinet provided with a developing chamber, a gas generating station communicating therewith,y and a loa chamber communicating with the developing chamber,a shiftable curtain adapted to cut otf communication between the developing chamber and the loading chamber, a support mounted in said cabinet and shiftable from the loading chamber to the developing chamber, means for blowin developing lras from the generatin cham r into the evelopingchamberI an into contact with the light sensitive material on said carrier,'

and means for withdrawing said developing gas into saidgenerating chamber.

4. In a developing apparatus, the combination 'of a cabinet forming a developing -chamber and a communicating gas generat- Jing chamber, means for supporting light sensitive material in the developing cham-A ber, means for projecting developing gasA from thegas generating chamber into the developing chamber and for causing the withdrawal of said developing gas from the developing chamber back into said gas generating chamber.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a cabinet formed with a developing chamber and a communicating chamber, means for projecting developing gas from said communicating chamber into e said developing chamber and into contact with light sensitive material supported therein, and means constructed andarranged to withdraw said developing gas from said developing chamber back into said communicating chamber.

6. Ina device ofthe class described, the combination of a cabinet provided with a developing chamber and a communicating fan chamber having an opening to the atmosphere, a plurality of shutters controlling said opening, said shutters being of relatively light material and automatically shiftable by the creation of an air current in said fan chamber, means for driving said fan in reversed directions, and absorbent means disposed in the path of movement of the air and saturated with liquid adapted to evolve chemically active developing gas whereby said air current created by the fan will project evolved developing gas onto the light sensitive material. I

7 In a device of the class described, the combination of a cabinet formed with adeveloping chamber, means for supporting light sensitive material in said chamber, means Jfor causing a current of air to pass into said developing chamber to project de-` veloping gas against said light sensitive material and means for causing the reversal of the current of air to withdraw the gas from said developing chamber.

8. In a device-of the class described, the combination of means forming a cabinet provided with a developing chamber and a loading chamber, a curtain shiftable across said cabinet and adapted to isolate the developing chamber from the loading chamber, a movable carrier mounted in said cabinet and adapted to support light sensitive material and to move from said loading chamber to the developing chamber and back, means for moving said carrier and means for shifting the curtain and means for blowing gases into said developing chamber to develop the light sensitive material therein.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination of a cabinet provided with a developing chamber and a Ventilating cham-A ber, a fan communicating with the developing chamber, and a fan communicating with the Ventilating chamber, means for causing the first fan to blow developing gas into contact with light sensitive material in the developing chamber and means for causing the second fan to project air against the light sensitive material in the Ventilating chamber.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination of means forming a cabinet provided with spaced apart vertical walls and* forming a developing chamber and a ventilating chamber, said walls having vertical guide-ways, a curtain vertically shiftable and having its marginal edges projecting into said guide-ways to form a substantial air-tight seal, an upper roll upon which said curtain winds, a lower roll, said curtain having its ends connected to the lower roll and said curtain being formed so as to provide an opening in its lower portion when raised, a movable carrier adapted to move along the floor of said cabinet and to shift into and out of the developing chamber and through the opening in said curtain, and means in the developing chamber for developing light sensitive material therein.

ll. In a device of the class described, the combination of a cabinet, having a fioor provided with spaced rails, a wheel truck mounted on said rails and said railsvhaving registering slots therein, a curtain mounted in said cabinet and adapted to raise and lower through said slot to permit the passage of the truck along the floor of said cabinet,

and means on one side of the curtain for developing light sensitive material.

12. In a device of theclass described, the combination of a cabinet having an upper roll and a lower roll mounted thereon, a curtain having its upper end adapted to wind on the upper roll and having marginal straps on its lower end adapted to wind on the lower roll, said straps being spaced apart substantially the width of the cabinet to form a cut out therebetween, a shiftable carrier adapted to move along the door of the cabinet and to pass between said spaced apart straps when the curtain is in raised position so as to permit the truck to move from one portion of the cabinet to the other, means for operating said rollers for raising and lowering the curtain, means permitting the movement of the truck, means on said truck for supporting lightsensitive material and means at `one end of the cabinet for projecting developing gas against said light sensitive material;

In witness'whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

' ADOLPH LANGSNER. 

